How to Document a Performance Review

The annual performance review can be stressful. But while many managers focus their attention on what they’ll say in the face-to-face conversation, they forget the importance of documenting their impressions in the right way. The following piece, adapted from the book Performance Reviews, will help you write down your feedback in a way that will both meet your organization’s requirements and pave the way for an effective discussion.

Once you have analyzed your employee’s perfor­mance, record your feedback in a way that can be shared and saved. When preparing a formal written assessment, refer back to your company’s guidelines so you’re adhering to the appropriate format. If your company does not have a standard form, create one.

Your organization may require you to provide a general rating of the employee’s performance, indi­vidual ratings of speciﬁc aspects of their performance, or a combination of ratings and qualitative informa­tion. Follow the instructions given to you, but don’t be constrained by the format of the form. Instead, adapt or amend it so you can tell the whole story. Your em­ployee will ﬁnd your observations, comments, and examples more useful than a numeric rating alone. Include attachments—comments too long to include on the form, or the employee’s development plan from the previous year—if they will enrich your evaluation.

Record your observations about your employee’s job performance as objectively as possible, and tie your conclusions to hard data. Provide evidence of progress (or lack thereof) by connecting accom­plishments with established goals: “Derek increased sales by 7%, which exceeded his goal of 5%.” “Laura reduced her error rate by 20%; her goal was 30%.” Then your employee can easily grasp the assessment criteria and recognize the evaluation as fair.

Also include speciﬁc examples. The more informa­tion you can provide, the more likely the employee will be to repeat and even improve on positive be­haviors—or correct less positive ones. Use the most telling examples to make your point in your written evaluation, and save the rest for your review session in case you need to support your judgment during the conversation. These examples should include:

Details about what you observed. Let’s look at Theo, a customer service representative. Theo has more than doubled the orders he’s ﬁlled over the past year, now that he’s learned how to use the new customer database. But don’t just say that; back it up with detail. For example, write: “Last year Theo ﬁlled 15 orders per day. This year his average was up to more than 30 per day. He also asks fewer questions now that he’s effectively using the customer database.”

Supporting data, such as reports or 360-degree feedback: “Siobhan helped Theo learn how to use the new customer database, and she reports that he’s using it on a regular basis.”

The impact on your team and organization: “After Theo learned how to use the new data­base, he no longer had to rely on colleagues to ﬁnd out pertinent information. The whole team began fulﬁlling orders more quickly because they were answering fewer questions from him, which improved cash ﬂow for the organization.”

Expressing your observations as neutral facts rather than judgments is particularly important when giving negative feedback. For example, “Theo doesn’t seem to care about customers” negatively characterizes Theo rather than describing his behavior. “Theo doesn’t know how to talk to difﬁcult customers” also isn’t helpful, because it infers a lack of knowledge instead of identifying a skill that Theo can improve upon. On the other hand, “Theo received ﬁve complaints from extremely unsatisﬁed customers,” is more objective and speciﬁc to a particular job requirement.

When giving positive feedback, on the other hand, combine speciﬁc achievements with character-based praise. For example: “With the new accounts she generated, which delivered $1.25 million in busi­ness, Juliana exceeded the goal we set for her last July by 27%. Her creativity and perseverance drove her to look beyond the traditional client base; she researched new industries and networked at confer­ences to ﬁnd new customers.” Acknowledging the traits and behaviors that made those results pos­sible will show your direct report that you see her as an individual—which can generate pride and boost motivation.

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Supporting your assessment with speciﬁc examples and details not only makes it more likely that the em­ployee will be able to hear and learn from your feed­back, it also mitigates any possible legal ramiﬁcations in particularly egregious situations. If an employee’s work is beginning to suffer, or if you suspect that you might need to dismiss someone due to poor performance, it’s vital that you document the individual’s behavior and the steps you’ve taken in attempting to correct it. As a rule of thumb, include in your evalua­tion only statements that you’d be comfortable testi­fying to in court. If you have any questions about legal ramiﬁcations, consult with your human resource manager or internal legal team.

Finally, write down the three things the employee has done best over the course of the year and the two areas that most need improvement. Ask yourself, “What’s the single most important takeaway I want the employee to remember?” Distill your message down to a single key idea—your overall impression of his performance. These few points will determine the overarching message that you want to convey in the review discussion, and having them documented will prevent you from forgetting any important points when you’re in the moment.